[Avodah] asher yatzar

[Chana Luntz]

RDR writes:

> On Fri, September 15, 2006 8:52 am, David Riceman wrote:
> : My son and I are studying siddur, and we're curious about
> :the bracha asher yatzar.  Isn't it praising God for a bug rather than
a 
> :feature? Surely making human beings resistant against slight changes
in 
> :form would be better design.
> 

Amd RMB responds:

> I think the point of the berakhah is the necessary 
> complexity. Not that the design is flawed, but that it 
> supports so many things because it's complex. With complexity 
> ought to come fragility.
> 
> The human body is a more complex design that the system I 
> work on for work. With that many parts, there will be many 
> points of failure. And yet, the system is down far more often 
> than a person is.
> 

Yes this is true, but: - the gemora in Yoma 75b states that the mon was
absorbed directly into the 248 limbs of the body and even elevated all
other food stuffs so they too resulted in no waste, meaning that no
waste was produced.  And the gemora explains, it was only after the Bnei
Yisroel complained that the halacha of needing a shovel was expounded,
ie they were punished by needing to relieve themselves - it being a
punishment that they would then have to walk up to three parsos to
relieve themselves. 

So, if relieving oneself is (or can be seen as) a form of punishment,
and it is possible to provide food that does not result in waste (I know
it contradicts the second law of thermodynamics - but I am not sure what
the Torah view is or should be on the second law of thermodynamics, with
its bleak view of things) why, to perhaps rephrase RDR (or his son's)
question, are we indeed making a bracha?  Even if the current design is
complex, would not having the situation in the midbar pre complaint as
standard be the desirable scenario?   

> -mi

Regards

Chana